Tia Tames The Animal
by MsLightning
Summary: Tia is a single Mom going back to school for her doctorate while working as a personal trainer at her local gym. After a random meeting with John Cena and Dave Batista, she's left trying to keep her life as normal as possible. OCxCena and OCxBatista
1. Chapter 1

Tia Tames The Animal

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 1—A Day in the Gym

"Come on, one more," Tia said, pushing her client to one more rep on the lat pulldown machine. She held the connection point of the wide bar to the cable and helped her client slowly lower the weight after the final set. "Very good! How do you feel?" 

"Tired," Jim replied, "but I'm definitely seeing results from the workouts. My wife is thrilled that I have the energy to keep up with her and the kids now when we go biking in the park."

"Good, then I've done my job right," she said. "I'm gonna let you go hit the cardio equipment. Pick whatever you want today and just make sure you stay in your target heart rate zone for 30 minutes. Let me know when you're done and I'll stretch you out then."

As Jim moved on to his cardio, Tia walked around the gym to see if there was anyone who needed her help. She re-racked some weights that were left lying on the floor, not noticing that she was being watched from across the room.

"Did you see her?" John asked his friend Dave as they were resting between sets at the squat rack. "She just picked up a 50 pound dumbbell like it was nothing to rack it."

"Yeah, she's a lot stronger then she looks, huh," Dave replied. "Why do you think I've been in awe of her since she started work here last month? I saw her working out the other day and couldn't believe the weights she was using. She had 300 pounds on the bar for squats, then did like 6 sets with it. Most girls would run from that kind of weight and she did it like it was nothing."

"So, when you gonna ask her out?" John asked, putting another plate on the bar before doing his own squats.

"I'm not," Dave said. "Not after finding out some about her. She's in school for her doctorate, man. She'd be bored out of her mind on a date with me, cause I could never keep up my end of the conversation with someone that smart."

"Whatever, man," John smiled as Tia walked by. "I'm gonna ask her out then and I'm not going to worry about conversations because if I have my way, we won't be talkin'!" He walked over to the counter where Tia was looking over her schedule for the day. "Hi, I'm John. You're Tia, right?"

"Yes, I'm Tia," she replied. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, there is," he grinned, leaning in closer to her. "You can help me have an enjoyable evening in the company of a beautiful woman. Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

"No," she said, backing away from him slightly and grinning from ear to ear. "My daughter would kill me if I went on a date with you. She's your biggest fan and would accuse me of stealing her man if I went out with you."

"Daughter, huh?" John looked shocked.

"Yep, a 17 year old daughter who wants YOU as her graduation present next year," Tia laughed. 

"No way you have a 17 year old daughter," John shouted. "You can't be more then 27 yourself."

"Aren't you the charmer!" Tia replied. "But yes, I do have a 17 year old daughter and a 19 year old son, and I'm at least old enough to be your, uh, Mom's younger sister." They both laughed. "So even if my daughter wouldn't be hurt by it, I couldn't go out with you because you're just too young for me." 

"So, tell me about your daughter," John said. "Does she look like you? When can I meet her?"

"Some people say she looks just like me and I'm not sure I'm ready for her to meet you. I am a Mom, after all, and much like a Momma Tiger, I protect my babies." Tia gave him as evil a stare as she was capable of. "You'll have to prove you're worthy of my daughter before I'd be willing to introduce you." 

"Oh, I'm worthy," John said, flexing his biceps. "I'm big and strong and can protect her for you. Not to mention I'm rich and can give her the moon if she wants it!" 

"Oh, I doubt she wants the moon," Tia said, "but you never know. Her plan is to go to Harvard Law and make enough money to buy whatever she wants, so I don't think she's interested in your money. As for the bulging biceps, remember she is only 17 so too young for you right now. I'll tell you what though, you be a good boy for the next few months and prove to me that you won't break her heart and maybe, just maybe, I'll be nice and give you her phone number on her 18th birthday."

"Deal," John said, holding out his hand to shake on it. "And to start proving what a good boy I am, I want to introduce you to my friend Dave. Hopefully, he's not too old for you, cause he's getting up there in years. So senile that he wouldn't come say Hi with me. But he's a really nice guy, who thinks you're the most amazingly strong women he's ever seen, so I think the two of you might want to enjoy that dinner tonight instead of you and me."

"So the two of you have been discussing me, have you?" she asked. "And you think that will make you seem like a good boy and make me want to go out with him?"

"Well, yeah, and yeah," John said. "We've both been really impressed with your weights when you're working out and how dedicated you seem to be to your clients."

"And you haven't been admiring my, um, assets?" she asked, looking at him with a distasteful look on her face.

"Well," he said with a grin.

"That's what I thought," she said, slamming her planner. "Sorry, I learned my lesson long ago. I won't fall for the gimmick because I spent my formative years in a wrestling locker room. I won't be treated like a ring rat, and I won't date anyone who brags to the boys all about it." She walked away before he could say anything else, going over to help her client stretch after his workout.

"Dave's going to kill me," John said, speaking randomly to the empty space she left at the counter. 

"What did you do?" Dave asked from behind him, causing him to jump from the deep baritone voice.

"Dave," John said, his voice getting an octive higher as he turned around. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just long enough to hear that I'm going to kill you. I just want to know why before I do it," he said as he glared at John.

"Well, I may have made her think we're a couple of pervs who are just after her body?" John said as he sprinted around behind the counter and out of Dave's reach.

"You did what?" Dave shouted.

"I didn't mean to," John said, "but she apparently has some experience with wrestlers and when I said that you and I had been talking about her, she immediately thought we were talking about her like we would an old ring rat instead of the cool conversation we were having about her and she walked off before I could correct her. You gotta talk to her, man, and let her know that we were impressed by her, not being total pervs."

"You're right," Dave said. "I am going to kill you. I see the woman of my dreams and you make her think I'm some kind of perverted jerk." Dave started stalking around the counter toward John. "You'd better fix this, or be prepared to lose some vital body parts."

"I'll fix it!" John yelled as he ran off to the locker room away from a fuming Dave.


	2. Chapter 2

Tia Tames The Animal

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 2—John's Fix

"Tia, I have a couple of new clients for you," Madison, the gym manager, said as she walked into the break room where Tia was sitting having her lunch.

"Okay, who and when?" Tia asked as she took a bite of her salad.

"A couple of the wrestlers who workout here, starting tomorrow. They want to workout together because they are training for a big event and want to incorporate some of their wrestling drills into the workouts," Madison said, sitting down.

"Wrestlers? Training with her?" Doug, a fellow trainer, asked from across the room. "Why is the newbie getting the primo assignment I've been angling for for the last six months? She's here to train the women and old men, not the athletes! I am a wrestler, that's my specialty. I should get that assignment!" He stomped over and stood over Madison menacingly grabbing her by the throat.

Madison looked up at Doug with fear in her eyes and stuttered as she said, "but they asked for Tia."

Tia couldn't stand sitting there and seeing her boss be bullied by her muscle-headed co-worker any longer, so she stood up and pushed Doug away from Madison. "Just FYI, I may be new here, but I'm not a newbie as a trainer. I've done this for the last 16 years and have a list of certifications a mile long, not to mention a bachelor's degree in athletic training and a 13 year career as a professional wrestler. You have one certification and are in training to become a wrestler. These guys obviously did their homework and knew who is really wet behind the ears and wouldn't have a clue how to train them and who is not only knowledgeable in the weight room but also in a fight. I suggest you go do your homework before you pick another fight, because I won't hesitate to use my knowledge to land your ass in the hospital if I ever see you bully another woman like you just tried to do with Madison."

"Come on, little girl," he taunted. "You may have the years of experience, but I'm at least 150 pounds bigger then you and would enjoy tearing you apart."

Tia laughed as she told him, "I dare you to try. Personally, I don't think you've even got the balls to throw a punch."

"You bitch," he said as he attempted a right hook. She quickly stepped aside, grabbed his arm, and used his own momentum to take him to the ground face first, holding him down in a chicken wing. Two quick rabbit punches to the left kidney and a quick twist of his right arm and she got up, leaving him there screaming in pain and in need of a cast for his broken arm.

"I'm not setting that, by the way," she said to Madison as she sat back down to finish her lunch. "So who are these wrestlers I'm training tomorrow?"

Madison was speechless for a moment, looking back and forth between Doug and Tia. As Doug tried to get up, Madison moved away from him so that Tia was between her and Doug as she got out her cell phone and called 911. When the police and paramedics arrived, she informed them that Doug had been abusive to her in the past and when he threatened her today, Tia protected her from him. After taking statements from both Madison and Tia, Doug was allowed to go to the hospital to be patched up, but only with an officer going with him because he would then report to the jail because Madison was pressing charges.

After they left, Madison approached Tia and gave her a hug. "Thank you!" she said. "He's bullied his way to clients he didn't deserve for the last time. Usually, it was in the privacy of my office so no one would see him hit me, but I guess he thought you were just another defenseless woman like me so he could get away with it. Thank you for stopping him."

Tia hugged her back. "No problem, Madison. If I'd have known he had done it before, I'd have beaten the crap out of him before now. You won't have to worry about him trying it again, I promise you. Now, let's get back to work and quit thinking about that slime ball. Who do you have me training tomorrow?"

"Oh, I totally forgot," Madison replied as they broke their embrace. "John Cena and Dave Batista, tomorrow at 3."

"Those two?" Tia said with a grimace. "If I'd have known it was those two, I'd have told you to give them to Doug because they all deserve each other! Please don't make me train them."

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd be happy," Madison said, surprised by Tia's reaction. "They are both really sweet guys, and they offered to pay double because of the last minute schedule and unusual training needs. I was so excited by it that I ran the card as soon as John handed it to me."

"Well, if I have to put up with them, at least you'll get a great commission out of it," Tia said. "How many sessions?"

"Three a week," Madison said sheepishly, "until WrestleMania."

"Until WrestleMania? Are you kidding me?" Tia exclaimed. "You realize that WrestleMania is in March, right?" Madison nodded her head yes. "Madison, its September! That's 6 months of training! That's like 70-something sessions."

"Seventy-two sessions, and they paid up front for all of them at 200 per session of which you make 60 and I make 20 and the gym makes 20." Madison said. "Do you not realize how much money I made you with that deal? You're going to have over 8000 on your next check because of this deal. Sorry, I couldn't pass that up."

"Well, it will definitely come in handy with my student loans." Tia said. "Guess I'll just have to suck it up and suffer through. But don't fire me if they mouth off and end up like Doug."

Madison laughed as they walked out on to the gym floor to finish out their day.


	3. Chapter 3

Tia Tames The Animal

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 3—Session 1

Tia was running late from class, as usual, and it was getting close to time for her appointment with John and Dave. She ran from her car straight to the locker room to change from her blue pinstriped suit and lab coat and into her favorite black yoga pants and bright green t-shirt. As she was putting on her tennis shoes, Madison walked into the locker room, looking for her. "There you are!" Madison exclaimed. "They're here and acting like nervous school-boys with a crush! What did you do to those guys?"

"Nothing," Tia answered, looking confused. "What are they doing that is so weird?"

"Pacing around, asking each other how they look, just nervous acting. John's had like 4 bottles of water in the last 15 minutes." Madison said sitting down beside Tia and starting to giggle. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't spend half the session in the bathroom from all that water."

"I guess he's planning ahead and using the body part I'm NOT going to train?" Tia said giggling with Madison. "Hopefully, he won't have to go during his 3 minute step test, cause he'll just have to wet his pants. It'll serve him right for being such a male pig. All the girls he's oogling won't be very interested once they see him then."

"You're so mean!" Madison laughed. "So you've caught him oogling girls here? I wouldn't happen to be one of them, would I?" Madison looked like a hopelessly love struck puppy.

"I don't know who all he's oogled. I just know he asked me out the other day and admitted that he and Dave had been watching me for the past month." Tia said, standing up and shutting her locker. "Kinda gave me the creeps, especially since I've been in the locker room when wrestlers were talking about their conquests. These guys are just like the old farts I use to work with—perverted."

"Wow, really," Madison looked somewhat disgusted. "I'm sorry I stuck you with them for the next few months."

"Don't worry about it," Tia said. "I'm actually looking forward to training them. I get to let out my masochistic streak and they are paying me to do it!" With that she left the locker room to go meet her new clients at the front desk.

When she arrived at the desk, John was no where to be found. Dave was standing there, patiently waiting and flipping through a magazine on the counter.

"Hi, I'm Tia," Tia said, holding out her hand to shake his. "I see you're ready to workout. Where's John?"

"Bathroom," Dave said quietly shaking her hand. "I'm Dave, nice to meet you."

"Yeah, Madison said he was downing the water like crazy," she said. "So shall we start without him or would you like to wait?"

"We can go ahead and get started," Dave replied. "He can catch up if he ever gets back out here."

"Well, let's start with some forms," she got a folder from behind the desk and handed it to him.

"Actually, Madison already gave us those. Here's mine," he said pulling a folder from under his magazine. "Not sure where John's are."

"Awesome, usually we waste the first 15 minutes of a session waiting on forms to be finished," she said, starting to look at his health and fitness history. "I see you've had some injuries over the years. Any of that still bother you?"

"Not really," he said. "I'll get the occasional ache and pain from landing wrong or something, but no problems really."

"Good," she said, smiling at him politely. "It looks like your injuries were mostly muscle injuries, so they typically heal better then bone or joint issues. The bone injuries are usually where you end up with arthritis and chronic pain that won't go away. Hence the reason I'm not in the business anymore. I'm glad to see you're taking better care of your body then I did."

"You were in the wrestling business?" he asked quizzically. "Where did you work?"

"Yeah, I was in the business," she replied, looking at him and internally questioning her thoughts of him being obsessed with sex like the other wrestlers she knew. After all, the line about taking care of her body was a perfect opening for a perverted one liner from him and he passed it up to talk about the wrestling business. "I worked local indies as a teenager, starting in one owned by my uncle and moving on to Atlanta for a while. I got my big break in WCW and ended up having to pass it up because I was pregnant with my son."

"Wow," he said. "I knew you were the strongest trainer I'd seen in here, but I didn't realize you had wrestling experience too. Now I know you'll understand our unusual needs and will be the perfect trainer for us, if John will ever get out here to start training." They both laughed.

While waiting for John, Tia started Dave on a series of fitness tests. She began with a pulse and blood pressure check, then moved on to weight, measurements, and body fat analysis and realized while doing his measurements that she was enjoying touching him just a little too much for a trainer-client relationship. As she started him on the step test, she had to step away from him to clear her head before touching him again for the pulse check at the end of the test. They were able to complete the test with only minor electricity between them and moved on to the muscular strength and endurance tests and were finishing up the flexibility tests when John finally arrived.

"Hey, there you are," John said as he walked up and looked straight at Tia. "Sorry, I'm late. I got stuck talking to a guy in the locker room about your little fight yesterday."

"Fight?" Dave asked, looking at Tia.

"Yeah, apparently Tia kicked Doug's butt yesterday and didn't even let us watch," John replied.

"Doug, the trainer Doug?" Dave asked looking back and forth between John and Tia.

"Yeah, the trainer Doug!" John replied looking at Dave. "Apparently, she left him with a broken arm and bruised kidneys." He turned back to look at Tia. "I've just gotta ask how you did it. That dude is like twice your size. You're amazing!"

"Are you okay?" Dave turned and asked Tia, looking her up and down to see if there was any damage he had missed in his prior assessment of her body. "He didn't hurt you did he? If so, I'll be glad to tear him apart for you."

"Dave, are you listening? She kicked his butt, not the other way around." John said smacking Dave in the head.

"No, he didn't hurt me. He didn't even touch me," Tia said. "He was threatening Madison and grabbed her by the throat. I just reacted and put him in his place, face first on the floor. Hopefully, his cellmate Bubba is now making him feel the way Madison did being abused by him for months."

"Months?" John asked. "Whoa, that's not cool. The guy I was talking to was one of his clients and didn't know exactly what happened, just that you kicked his butt. So is Madison okay? She looked fine when I talked to her earlier."

"Yeah, she's fine," Tia replied, "just a little shaken up. And I'm sure she'll be glad to know that you were looking her over to know she was fine. Shall we get back to work now? I need to do your assessment."

Tia took the folder of paperwork he handed to her and reviewed his former injuries before starting to assess his fitness level. She did the same measurements, body composition analysis, and physical tests that she had done with Dave, but without the stirrings of attraction that she had felt in Dave's assessment, which made it easier to get through. After the assessment was completed, they moved over to the cardio equipment where they would start their training. Thirty minutes of various drills on the treadmill, bike, and elliptical and they were through for the day. After setting an appointment for the next day, they were all off in their own directions.


	4. Chapter 4

Tia Tames The Animal

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 4—Animal to the Rescue

A couple of weeks passed with Tia training Dave and John when they were in town and going about her normal crazy schedule of school and training other when they weren't in town. She found that the more she got to know the two wrestlers, though, the less she believed her initial assessment of them as falling into the same category as the sexually obsessed wrestlers she had known previously. The more she worked with them, the more she realized that she might be in trouble because of the strong attraction she felt for Dave. It was getting harder and harder to deal with the electrical charge she felt every time she pointed out a working muscle and stretching him out at the end of a session was the most sensual she had ever felt in a gym. When he called to let her know that he and John would be late to their session today because of a flight delay, it was all she could do not to end the call with a casual "love you" like she did with her kids because she was falling for him fast with no idea how to control it.

"Madison, I'm in major trouble," she said, walking into Madison's office to kill some time with her boss while waiting for Dave and John to arrive.

"You heard about Doug?" Madison asked, looking nervously up from her desk.

"No, I was talking about Dave," she replied and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. "What about Doug?"

"He made bail," Madison said. "I've gotten 4 threatening calls since he was released this morning."

"Great!" Tia exclaimed, obviously mad. "Have you reported it to the cops?"

"Yeah," Madison said. "But they can't do anything unless he tries something, so I'm going to stay at my brothers until the court date so he can't find me. I suggest you find somewhere else to stay too, maybe go visit your son in Georgia?"

"The court date is like another month away," Tia replied. "I couldn't miss that much school. Besides, it'd be a major cramp to Jimmy's style to have his Mom and sister back at home with him."

About that time, the desk clerk knocked on the door. "Tia, your clients are here," she said.

"I bet you and Katie could stay with one of them, maybe Dave," Madison giggled at Tia, knowing how Tia was fighting her feelings for Dave.

Tia rolled her eyes as she got up from the chair. Shooting her friend a sarcastic look as she made her way to the door she said, "Sure, Madison, that won't be awkward at all! Maybe you'd like to start planning the wedding too?"

"Okay, it'll be WrestleMania weekend since it's here in Tampa this year. Maybe you could get married in the ring like Macho Man and Elizabeth?" Madison continued to taunt her friend.

Tia slammed the door as she left the office to go meet Dave and John.

"You okay," Dave asked as soon as he saw the look on Tia's face.

"Yeah, just a little stressed today," Tia replied. "Doug made bail this morning and has started making threatening phone calls to Madison, so now I'm worried about my friend. I don't think she's handling it well. She's gone delirious and is planning fictional weddings at WrestleMania."

"HUH?" Dave and John said in unison.

"Don't ask!" She replied walking them over to the squat rack to begin their workout that day. "So how was your trip?"

"Too long," Dave said, helping Tia load up the bar with weight for their first set.

"Yeah," John said, "he was in a big hurry to get home this time. Said something about a hot trainer he couldn't wait to see."

"Hot trainer, huh?" Tia grinned at John, then looked at Dave with a serious look on her face. "You cheating on me with another trainer?"

"Are you kidding?" Dave replied. "After one of your workouts, I can barely walk to the other side of the gym, much less have the energy left to workout again."

"Really?" Tia said, grabbing another 45 pound plate to put on the squat bar. "Well, lets just make sure of that, shall we? 20 reps, plie."

"UGH," Dave said. "I hate plie squats. I'll get you for this, John."

They worked their way through a series of squats, lunges, and deadlifts of various forms to really work their legs. As they were finishing up with their workout, a crying teenage girl came running up to Tia and threw her arms around her.

"Katie, honey, what's wrong?" Tia asked, hugging the girl close to her.

"We've been robbed!" Katie screamed, crying into her Mom's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Tia asked, pushing her daughter away slightly so she could look her over. "Were you hurt?"

"No, I wasn't home," Katie answered, starting to calm down. "I just got home and found the apartment trashed. I called the police and they did their thing. The cop said something about a guy on bail that you needed to be warned about. What's going on?"

"Doug?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, that was his name," Katie replied. "How'd you know?"

"It's the guy I told you about a few weeks ago that was abusing Madison." Tia replied. "I guess she was right about saying we should go stay with your brother for the next month until Doug's trial."

"So, we're going to Georgia for a month?" Katie looked devastated. "Of course, just when I'm finally fitting in here at school, some jerk has to go and ruin it."

"No, baby, we're not going to Georgia," Tia said, hugging her daughter close to her. "Nobody is going to scare me out of living our lives. We'll find a hotel or something for a while so we neither one have to give up our classes."

"You'll stay with me," Dave said. "I have a huge house with plenty of room and an awesome security system so you won't have to worry about him again."

"Thank you, Dave, but we couldn't impose like that," Tia said.

"No imposition at all," he replied. "After all, this is kinda my fault. He wouldn't have been pissed that day if it hadn't been for me insisting on having you as a trainer. So now I'm going to take care of him."

"I don't need anyone to take care of things for me," Tia replied, getting defensive.

"I know you don't, but you also don't need to have to worry about this asshole while you're trying to focus on your studies and taking care of your daughter, especially when I can take care of everything in 10 minutes and 3 phone calls." Dave grinned at Tia. "You are by far the strongest, toughest woman I've ever met. I know you can handle this guy on your own. But I'm a man and men sometimes have to make themselves feel strong by taking care of women who don't really need it. As my trainer, it's your job to make me feel strong, so consider it part of your job to let me take care of you for a little while, okay."

Katie giggled, "Mom, I think you've met your match. And I really don't feel like growing old and missing out on having my own kids to stand around waiting on the two of you to quit fussing about this, so I'm just going to ask you for our new address," she said, turning to Dave, "because I vote for your plan."

Dave smiled at Katie, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. By the way, I don't think we've met. I'm Dave, and this is my buddy John."

At that point, Katie realized who she was standing beside and started wimpering and turned to her Mother and squeeled, "Please tell me I look okay! Is my mascara running? Oh, Gawd, how could you let me meet HIM looking like this? Oh, crap, I'll be right back!" She then ran to the locker room.

Tia began to laugh, then cry, then laugh some more, then both at the same time. Dave looked at John as if asking what to do. John shrugged his shoulders, confused. Katie came back after obviously washing her face to remove the streaks of makeup from her crying earlier. "I think she's lost it," Katie said. "Mom, are you okay?"

Tia took a couple of deep breaths to gain control of herself again. "Yeah, I'm fine. You are just too much! In the middle of all the chaos, you are worried about how you look for meeting John. And he doesn't even have a clue what he's in for now that you've met him." Tia began laughing again.


	5. Chapter 5

Tia Tames The Animal

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 5—Welcome Home

Tia gave up arguing when she realized that Katie, Dave, and John were all determined that she and Katie would stay at Dave's house until after Doug's trial. When she finally conceded, Dave stepped away to make a couple of phone calls. The first was to his friend Hunter who would let his father-in-law, Vince, know that Dave was taking some vacation time to stay in Tampa to protect Tia. The second was to his security company to get a couple of guards posted at his house and set up to shadow Tia and Katie whenever they left the property. The final call was to a moving company to have them go pick up all of Tia and Katie's things and clean up their apartment so that they didn't have to go back and see the wreckage of their belongings. Once everything was set up, he walked over to the group who had moved over to the reception desk to talk without interrupting the workouts of other gym members. As he approached them, he could see that Katie was obviously flirting with John, who was flirting back just as much, and Tia was smiling at the two of them. He grinned to himself at the sight of her smile. He decided at that point that he was going to take advantage of the time they would spend together to try and make that smile stay permanently.

"So, you two ready to go home?" He asked.

"Yeah," John said, putting his arm around Katie. "We're ready."

"I meant Tia and Katie," Dave said. "You can find your own way to your own house."

"Do you really think I'm going to let you protect these beautiful ladies without me?" John asked. "Not a chance. Besides, Katie and I have a better idea. She and I are going shopping."

"Shopping?" Dave asked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, Katie needs to go get somethings to get them through the next few days until their stuff is moved to your place, so I'm going to take her to the mall and get the stuff they need." John said.

"Actually, that's a really good idea," Dave said. "Although I'm shocked to hear you planning to go to a mall. You know what's going to happen at the mall right?"

"Yeah, I know," John said.

"Whats going to happen at the mall?" Katie asked.

"Johns going to get swamped with autograph hounds," Tia interjected. "That's why I'm letting you go with him, so you can see what kind of a life you'd have dating a wrestler. It was a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and while there are several things I don't want you to learn the way I did, I think seeing the way normal, daily activities turn into a circus will be good for you so you see part of why I'm always telling you what kind of guys to stay away from."

"We haven't convinced your Mom, yet, that not all wrestlers are bad guys," John said. "I think which ever wrestler she dated in her youth must have been an asshole. We'll bring her around eventually, don't worry about it. In the meantime, lets go shopping!" He took Katie's hand and started walking toward the door. "We'll meet you at your house around 7ish? Up to you what we all do for dinner." With that, they left the gym to go get clothes and toiletries for Katie and Tia.

"You're really letting her go to the mall with John?" Dave asked. "I don't let my daughters go anywhere with John!"

"Katie's got a good head on her shoulders." Tia said. "She won't do anything stupid, even if John wants her to. And I seriously think she needs to see what the wrestling lifestyle really is so she can decide for herself what she wants for her life. I can tell her all of my experiences until I'm blue in the face, but until she sees some of it for herself, she won't believe it and understand why I keep telling her not to believe everything she sees on tv. Who knows, she may still decide that she wants to date John or some other wrestler, but at least she is making an informed decision and not just falling for good looks and a flashy gimmick."

"Wow," Dave said. "I wish I would have been able to be that understanding with my daughters. Maybe then I wouldn't have had so many issues with them. So, I guess you and I are going to the house, or do you have some other clients tonight?"

"Yeah, I do actually have a couple more sessions before we can go," Tia replied. "I can meet you back here at the desk at 6ish, if that's okay so you can show me how to get there? Or you can just give me the address and I'll be there whenever I get done."

"I'll wait for you," Dave said. "I wanted to get some more cardio in anyway."

Tia went on about her routine of training clients and talking to members while Dave sat on an exercise bike watching her work. When she was finally done with her day, she met him at the desk. "I'm all ready to go," she said, smiling at Dave.

"Then lets go home," Dave said, smiling back.

They left the gym and Tia got in her car and followed Dave to his house. When they pulled into the driveway, she gasped at the sight of his massive house. She parked beside him and sat there slightly in shock. By the time she got out of the car, he was already standing beside her car.

"So, this is it," he said, taking her hand. "Let me show you around." He walked her in the front door and showed her through the house, the living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, game room, gym, and then up to the bedrooms. After showing her the guestrooms, he lead her to the master bedroom. Still holding her hand, he crossed through the room and walked out a set of French doors onto a wide balcony overlooking the backyard pool and the ocean. "This is my favorite spot in the house."

"It's not actually in the house, though," Tia said, grinning at him.

"No, but you know what I mean," Dave said, looking at Tia lovingly. "The view is almost as beautiful as you."

She pulled her hand from his and said, "Dave, don't start with the cheesy lines. You know I'm not going to fall for them." She tried to walk away, but he pulled her backwards into his arms.

"It's not a cheesy line, it's the truth," he bent and whispered in her ear. "If I wanted to use a cheesy line, I'd say something about how your eyes are the color of the ocean and your hair as golden as the sun. I think you're beautiful and I'm not going to apologize for saying it, so quit arguing with me about it and enjoy the view of the sunset." He held her there where they could look over the balcony at the view as the sun lowered below the horizon.

She stood there fighting an inner battle with herself over what she should be doing as he held her close. On one hand, she loved having him hold her and longed to do much more then just stand there in his arms. On the other hand, she had been deeply hurt by someone she had perceived to be just like him and didn't want to put herself in that position again. The question was, which one was the right hand?

After a few moments, he turned her to face him and gently brushed a lock of hair from her face with one hand as he pulled her in close to him with the other. "I know you feel the chemistry between us the same as I do," he said. "I also know it scares the hell out of you. It scares the hell out of me too, but I can't resist it anymore. I don't know why you've put up the walls between us, but I will tear them down, starting now." With that, he moved his hand from gently cupping her face to behind her neck to pull her even closer as he lowered his head to softly kiss her lips.

Every nerve ending in her body was on fire. Tia felt dizzy from the sensations running through her as she felt every inch of their bodies making contact. In her mind, she wanted to pull away and stop what seemed to be happening between them, but her body just wouldn't respond to her reasoning. She thought she was going to protest, but instead of opening her mouth to say they should stop, she opened her mouth and deepened their kiss. Her arms moved as if of their own violition up across his shoulders and around his neck. Instinctively, her body pressed closer to his, so close that she could tell just how aroused he was quickly becoming.

His hand that had been at the small of her back moved lower so that he could cup her firm butt and hold her tight against him so that he could enjoy the feeling of his manhood pressing into her lower abdomen. The feel of her hands, one on his upper back and one in his hair, was pure heaven. He knew before the kiss that they had chemistry, but he hadn't expected the explosion of desire that he felt or that she would respond to his kiss like she needed it as much as he did. He pulled away slightly to catch his breath before trailing kisses down her neck. Her soft moans of desire gave him the courage to go farther by picking her up and carrying her into the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed and covered her body with his own before kissing her again.

"Holy Cow this house is huge!" Katie's voice rang through the house. "Mom, where are you?"

The sound of her daughter stomping up the stairs gave Tia the superhuman strength to push Dave off of her. He quickly helped her up off the bed and straightened his clothes where Tia had unknowingly pulled his shirt up while running her hands across his chest. Once they were both sufficiently looking like nothing had happened, Tia opened the bedroom door to run into her daughter who was coming down the hall followed closly by John.

"There you are!" Katie squealed. "I've been looking all over for you."

"And just what have you been doing in Dave's bedroom?" John asked with his usual joking demeanor.

"Um, uh," Tia stuttered.

"I was showing her the balcony view," Dave said from behind her. "We've just been here long enough for a quick tour and I had to show her my favorite spot."

"Cool, so what are we doing for dinner?" John asked.

"My God, you just ate," Katie said, looking incredulously at John.

"That was just a snack to refuel after power shopping," John said. "Now I'm ready for dinner."

Tia started laughing. "Katie, you've just learned rule number one of dating a wrestler. Be prepared at all times with food because they eat 24/7."

"Good thing I love to cook!" she replied. "Where's the kitchen?"

"You're not cooking tonight," Dave said. "Although, you're welcome to cook anytime you want. Just not tonight because I've made reservations for dinner at 8. Let me show you your rooms so that you can get ready." He turned to John, "You'd better run so you can get home, clean up and change, and be back here at 7:30."

John looked at his watch and then ran out of the room to head to his house that was luckily just down the road. Dave laughed at his friend's rush. "I would have waited on him if he needed more time, but don't tell him that," he said to Tia and Katie who were shocked to see John rush out without even saying goodbye. They all laughed. Dave then showed Tia the room next to his and Katie the room across the hall from her mother, before excusing himself to go jump in the shower. The ladies then grabbed the bags John had carried upstairs and went to their rooms to get ready for their night out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 5—Dinner, Dancing, and Drama

After a quick shower, Tia put on the black dress that Katie had picked out for her. With its spaghetti straps and low cut, it revealed a little more than Tia would have normally shown off. She should have known better then to let her teenage daughter pick out clothes for her, but as it was the only dressy outfit Katie had purchased, Tia had no choice but to wear it for their night out. Thankfully, Katie was much less dramatic in her choices of make-up so Tia didn't feel too tarted up after applying a small amount in some natural colors. Once she was finished with her make-up, she curled her hair and slipped on the sexy, strappy heels that went with the dress. She grabbed the clutch purse Katie had picked out. Leave it to Katie to make sure the accessories all matched. Tia giggled inwardly wondering how bad John had suffered on that shopping trip. As she left her bedroom, she heard Dave and John downstairs talking. She knocked on Katie's door, only to be greeted by her daughter tripping her way out the door while trying to put on a shoe.

"Does this look okay?" Katie asked, smoothing her skirt down.

"Looks great," Tia replied. "But why did you by me a dress I can't wear a bra with?"

"Because I thought it was hot," Katie said, practically running to the stairs before shouting back. "I think Dave will too."

"Dave will, what?" Dave asked peeking up the stairs as Katie practically ran him over to get down to where John was standing.

"Think Mom is hot in her new dress," Katie said as Tia got to the top of the stairs and slowly walked down.

Dave felt as if he had just been punched in the chest. Not because of being hit by Katie as she ran down the stairs, but because Tia took his breath away. He stood there staring at her until she reached the bottom of the stairs, unable to say a word. As she stepped on the last stair, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately.

"I guess he likes the dress," John said, smiling at Katie. "Alright you two, either get a room or come on, 'cause I'm going to eat."

Dave reluctantly pulled away from Tia. "You look amazing," he said as he took her hand and lead her out to the car.

On the trip to the restaurant, the conversation shifted to how John & Katie's shopping trip went. Tia was surprised that there were only a few people who had even asked for pictures or autographs while they were at the mall. Apparently, their trip had only served to make Katie fall for John more.

They arrived at the restaurant and were seated at a table on the balcony overlooking a dance floor below and the ocean in the distance. After placing their order, Dave stood up and extended his hand to Tia. "Would you like to dance?" he asked. She placed her hand in his and they walked down to the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and they started to sway with the slow romantic music the band was playing. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you by kissing you like that in front of John and Katie," he whispered in her ear.

"It's okay," she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm sure Katie will use it against me later in saying that it's okay for her to date John, but honestly, I wouldn't mind her dating John. He seems like a good guy."

"Do I seem like a good enough guy for you to date?" he asked, closing his eyes and hoping she said yes.

"You seem like a very good guy," she said, "but…"

"No buts," he said, pulling her in closer to him. "Quit fighting what's happening between us and just enjoy it." He spun her around and they danced silently through several songs before Dave saw John waving at him from the balcony that their food was there.

They enjoyed their meal with casual, light conversation. After dinner, John and Katie went to enjoy the dance floor for a few minutes while Dave and Tia watched from the balcony. Tia glanced over and saw that Dave wasn't watching the dance floor, but was watching her instead.

"Do I have food between my teeth or something?" she asked him.

"No, you're just too beautiful for me to look away from," he said as he smiled at her. "Spend the night with me tonight?"

"I'm staying at your house," she said, not wanting to acknowledge his true meaning.

"You know what I mean," he replied, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. He gently kissed the back of her hand before saying, "I'm not asking for sex, though God knows I want to. I just keep thinking about what Doug might have done had you been at home today and I just want to hold you and make sure he never gets anywhere near you."

"Are you saying that if I spend the night in your bed, we won't have sex?" she asked, tilting her head and looking deep into his eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, if you wanted it, I'd make love to you right here on this table with everyone watching," he said, grinning at her. His expression got more serious as he continued, "but if you're not ready to make love, I'll wait until you are, and I'll be happy to be allowed to just hold you all night." He pushed a strand of hair from her eyes and gently cupped her face in his hand. "I know some idiot hurt you and you're afraid of it happening again, but I promise I'm not that stupid. Whether you believe in it or not, I fell in love with you at first sight, and I'll spend the rest of my life loving you, so I have plenty of time to wait until you're ready to admit you love me too." He leaned in closer to her, their faces just a whisper apart. "And in the meantime, I'll just keep trying to kiss you into submission." His lips touched hers softly and she melted into his arms, aching to deepen the kiss.

"All right, that's it, we gotta take these two home, so they can get a room and we don't have to watch this kissy face stuff," John said, grinning as he and Katie walked up to the table.

"Mom," Katie said as they started to make their way to the door, "we seriously need to talk about your double standard about dating wrestlers."

"There's no double standard, Katie," Tia said. "I've tried to inform you about the disadvantages of dating wrestlers, but I'm not telling you that you can't date a wrestler. I trust your judgment and I trust John. Just know that you are still only 17 and it would be illegal for you to have sex with him until November."

"Don't worry about that," John interjected. "I haven't even kissed her and don't plan on it until her birthday!"

They all laughed and walked out to Dave's vehicle to head home. When they arrived, there was a strange car in the driveway, along with 2 security vehicles and a patrol car. Dave insisted that the others wait in the car while he went to check it out. Of course, they didn't listen very well and quickly followed him out of the vehicle and up to the patrol car.

"Dave, thank God," a woman yelled from the back seat of the patrol car. "Tell these people to let me go. I'm your wife, not a damn burglar!"

"Ex-wife," Dave corrected, looking toward the officers and not looking in her direction. "It's okay, you can let her go."

"You're sure?" one officer asked. "She was ranting and raving and hitting that vehicle when the security guards cuffed her and called us." He pointed at Tia's car. "I have a feeling that she might want to do bodily harm to the owner."

"She's just a jealous ex," Dave said. "And if she messes with the owner of that vehicle, she'll be punished much worse then spending a night in jail. The last guy who messed with her ended up with a broken arm, bruised kidneys, and is still awaiting trial. I'm sure Angie is smarter then that and will go home and behave herself from now on."

The officers reluctantly let the woman out of the patrol car and took her cuffs off. As soon as she was released, she ran to Dave and practically screamed at him, "What is going on here? Who's car is that? Why is it here? And what is up with all the extra security?"

Dave closed his eyes took a deep breath. "Hello, Angie," he said. "I see that our divorce still hasn't sunk in how many years later? The vehicles in my driveway, the people at my house, hell, who I sleep with, is none of your business anymore. I suggest you go home now."

About that time, Angie noticed Tia, Katie, and John standing there. Seeing Johns arm protectively around Katie, she decided that Tia must be Dave's date for the evening and therefore, her mortal enemy. She made a move to get in Tia's face as she called her a slut. Tia didn't flinch as she mentally prepared for battle. As Angie drew back her hand to attempt to slap Tia, Tia's instinct took over. Before Dave could step in between them, Tia blocked the slap and punched Angie in the face, knocking her down. "Arrest her! That's assault!" Angie yelled while holding her bleeding nose.

"Looked like self defense to me," the officer standing closest to them said.

"Dave you better back up," Katie said, pulling John with her as she took a couple of steps back. "I've seen my Mom in a fight before and she doesn't remember anything afterwards. She'll hit anything that moves!"

"Don't be dramatic, Katie," Tia said. "I only black out when I'm pissed off and in defending my kids mode. You are clearly safe from this inept attack, so there is nothing for anyone to fear from me, unless she gets up and tries that again."

"Which she won't do," Dave interjected. "Officers, I was wrong. Please escort my ex-wife off of my property for her own safety. I won't be pressing charges this time." He turned to look at Angie before continuing, "but if you can't get past your jealousy, I will press charges if you come around here again." He then turned toward Tia and took her hand before leading her, Katie, and John into the house.

Once inside, he apologized to them all for his ex-wife's behavior.

"It's not your fault you were married to a crazy woman," Katie said. She grinned at her mother and continued, "Everybody has crazy ex's, huh, Mom?"

Tia grinned at her daughter and while stifling a little giggle said, "Yeah, I suppose so."

"She won't bother you again," Dave said. "She's just testing to see how serious we are. Since I obviously choose you over her, she'll back off and I won't hear from her again for a couple of months. Then she'll just pop in to say Hi and act like nothing ever happened and you are her best friend. That's how she's been ever since our divorce."

"Wow, weird, but not quite as psycho as some of our family," Katie said and they all laughed. "Okay, I've had enough for today and have a midterm tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now. Goodnight." She ran up the stairs without even a backwards glance at John.

"Guess you aren't as important as her midterm," Dave said to John patting him on the shoulder with a grin.

"Guess not," John said shaking his head and looking at Tia. "Like Mother, like Daughter, I suppose. She kept singing that country song "Don't Impress Me Much" all day. Guess I have my work cut out for me if I'm going to get to kiss her for her birthday."

"I told you my daughter has a good head on her shoulders," Tia said. "She may have a crush on you, but she'll make you earn her heart. And she will put her priorities like school first, always. Last year, she refused to celebrate her birthday because it was the day before SAT's. We ended up celebrating 2 days later after she had recovered from the constant study sessions. She'll have time to focus on you around May, after graduation and before college."

"I won't hold my breath then," John replied. "Well, I guess I'll head home and let you two get some rest. Goodnight." He then left Tia and Dave standing in the foyer.

"Shall we go up to bed?" Dave asked, reaching for Tia's hand to lead her up the stairs.

"Yes," she replied, "but I'll be going to my own room. I have too much on my plate to be dealing with jealous ex-wives right now." With that she left him standing at the top of the stairs and went to her room for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tia Tames The Animal**

Disclaimer: All characters owned by World Wrestling Entertainment are the property of WWE and are used here without permission, but with the utmost respect for the persons who portray those characters. Tia Marie Daniels is a character of my own creation, that I respectfully ask not be used by anyone else. All other characters are my own, as well, but may be used by others.

Chapter 7—Inner Turmoil and Exploding Desire

Tia tossed and turned all night in the strange bed, kicking herself for not going to Dave's room. When she finally did fall asleep, she dreamt of him sitting on the bed stroking her hair and kissing her goodnight; a dream that seemed so real that she could almost smell his cologne the next morning when she awoke. She got up and showered before digging through the things Katie had bought her to find something to wear to school. She threw some things in a bag to take down to her car and put in her gym bag for work. Then she made up the bed and straightened up the room before going to make sure Katie was ready to go to school. When she knocked on Katie's bedroom door, there was no answer. She opened it to find her daughter wasn't there. She walked downstairs and searched, finding Katie and Dave already in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Hey sleepyhead," Dave said, smiling at her over his waffles as if nothing had happened the night before. "Your daughter is a great cook. The smell of her waffles woke me up and that's hard to do this early in the morning."

"Morning Mom," Katie said as she got up and rinsed her dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. "Your waffle is almost done." She quickly flipped the waffle iron and got the waffle out and put it on a plate for her mother. "I think I saw some peanut butter in the pantry when I was searching for the stuff to cook breakfast."

"Peanut butter on waffles?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, with syrup," Katie said with her head in the pantry. "Mom's nuts!"

"Hey, you need protein in the morning, and heart healthy fats, and peanut butter is a great source of both," Tia said, taking her plate from the counter along with the peanut butter that Katie had found in the pantry. She slathered it on her waffle before adding the syrup. "I'll hurry and eat and clean up the kitchen so you have time to get ready for school."

With that Katie went upstairs to finish getting ready and left Tia and Dave alone in the kitchen. Tia ate in silence, feeling nervous with Dave watching her. After eating, she wiped down the waffle iron and counters, and made sure all of the supplies were back in their proper places before putting the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher,

"You don't have to do all that, you know," Dave said, smiling as she took his plate to put it in the dishwasher. "I have a maid that comes in to clean up."

"I don't want to be a burden," she replied. "You've been kind enough letting us stay here until this mess is over. The least we can do is clean up after ourselves."

"You aren't a burden," he said getting up and coming around the island to stand behind her where she was bent over the dishwasher. As she stood back up, he pulled her backwards into his arms. "In case you hadn't noticed, I have my own reasons for wanting you here that have nothing to do with the mess with Doug." He bent his head to kiss the side of her neck. Involuntarily, her body responded to his and she melted into him. He shifted his hips against her back so that she could feel how aroused he was and a soft moan escaped her lips. "Skip school and stay here with me today," he whispered in her ear before nibbling on it gently.

"Dave, I can't," she said, pulling away slightly. He pulled her back and held her tight against him. She wanted to resist but couldn't as he nuzzled her neck once more.

"Yes, you can," he whispered. "You don't have anything to worry about from my ex. She's harmless, I promise." He kissed her neck some more and turned her in his arms so that he could reach her lips with his own. One of his hands moved to the small of her back pulling her in so that there was no space between their bodies. His other hand was in her hair, holding her head so that she couldn't pull away from his kiss. Not that she could have pulled away from his kiss anyway. Her body was responding to him, regardless of her thoughts that they should stop. Unable to control herself, Tia's arms went up around his neck as she opened her mouth to allow his tongue to explore. He picked her up and sat her on the counter so that he didn't have to bend so far to kiss her, careful to keep her in close contact with his body the whole time. The hand in her hair moved down to cup her breast as her hands came down to stroke his chest. Her hands came up under his t-shirt as their kisses became more urgent and intense.

"Hey, where's everyone at?" they heard John yell from the foyer.

Tia quickly pushed Dave away and jumped down from the counter. She straightened her clothing as Dave groaned at not having her in his arms anymore. "Remind me to choke John later," he said as he walked around to the other side of the island to keep from taking Tia in his arms again. "We're in the kitchen!" he yelled and sat back down on the bar stool where he had eaten his breakfast.

"I came to drive Katie to school," John said as he walked in the kitchen. "Figured she'd need a ride since we left her car at the gym yesterday."

"I'm ready," Katie said as she walked in the kitchen right behind John. "My friends are going to flip when they see me arrive in your car!" She was grinning from ear to ear as she came up and took John's arm.

"Listen, while you are both here," Dave said. "I want to let you know that I have security trailing you both anytime you leave the house. They won't be able to follow you in the classroom, unless you think we need to get the schools involved, but they will be looking for you to come out the same doors you went in so don't freak out if you see someone in a black car following you or watching your schools today."

"Is that really necessary?" Katie asked looking at her Mom with a worried expression on her face.

"I don't know," Tia replied looking at Katie. "There's no telling what Doug will do, so I feel better knowing that someone is watching you when I can't be there." She turned to look at Dave before saying, "Thank you. I hadn't thought about needing security at school or work or in between. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for all of this."

"Smile," Dave said giving her a little grin. She smiled at him, hoping all the love she felt for him didn't show in her eyes. "Paid in full. Now give me a key to your apartment for the movers and don't let me make you late for school."

As Katie left with John, Tia gave Dave her house key before driving herself to school. They went about their day as if nothing was amiss, but Tia was acutely aware of the security guard following her. After classes, she went to the gym to train her clients. It was an early day so when John arrived with Katie, she was ready to caravan back to Dave's house with them. As they got out of their vehicles, they noticed the smell of something on the grill.

"Is Dave cooking?" Katie asked.

"I guess," Tia replied, "either that or he has the maid doing it."

John let them in the front door and they made their way to the kitchen to find Dave grabbing plates and silverware to carry out to the back deck where he was grilling steak, potatoes, and corn on the cob. "How was your day?" he asked, looking directly at Tia as they all walked out to the back patio.

"Fine, nothing exciting," she said, taking a seat at the outdoor table overlooking the pool. "How was your day?"

"Lonely," he said, giving her a puppy dog eyed look. "Somebody wouldn't skip school and stay home with me today."

"Well, aren't you lucky," she replied flirtatiously smiling up at him. "Tomorrow's Friday, so I don't have school. You and John are my only clients at the gym tomorrow, too. And I never schedule anything for Saturday or Sunday, so I can spend the next three days with you so you aren't lonely."

"Good," Katie said. "John and I can go hang out at the mall or the movies or something and ya'll can do your kissy face stuff while I'm not here. Now, pass me a steak, I'm hungry."

They all laughed before eating their dinner. After eating, Katie and John went to the family room to watch a movie while Dave and Tia cleaned up. After the clean up was done, Dave got out a bottle of wine and poured glasses for them both and they sat there watching the sunset without saying a word, just enjoying being together.

Their peace and quiet was soon disturbed by Katie coming to tell them goodnight and John telling them that he was going home. He was driving Katie to school again the next morning, so Tia and Dave could sleep in and call him when they were ready to go to the gym for their workout. After a while longer of just glancing at each other and not speaking, Dave finally broke the silence.

"Want to go for a swim?" he asked.

"Katie didn't get us swimsuits yesterday, so a swim will have to wait until I can go do some shopping of my own," she replied.

"Well, it is a private pool and no one else can see us, so we don't have to have swimsuits," he said as he gave her a sensual grin.

"You may not need a swimsuit," she replied, "but I do."

"So, I can't get you naked yet, huh?" he grinned

"No," she replied, sipping her wine. She lowered her gaze to the table as she recalled the previous nights dream of him kissing her in bed. After that suggestion, she would probably dream of him making love to her in the pool tonight, she thought.

"What am I going to have to do to convince you?" he asked, moving his chair so that he could be face to face with her and look deep into her eyes.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "I'm very attracted to you and I can't seem to stop my body from responding when you kiss me or touch me. But I'm still scared of where this is going."

"I understand," he said, taking her hands in his resting them between their knees. "I was scared, too. Too scared to even speak to you until John forced it by setting up our training sessions. Now that I know you, I'm scared of going back to a life without you in it. I want to be the man of your dreams, your lover, your partner in life, but I'm scared of pushing things too fast and you not even allowing me to be your friend anymore."

"I can't imagine not having you in my life either," she whispered, trying to push through her fears. "But I'm so scared of being hurt again. I was in love with a wrestler once before. My son's father. He was my life at that point. I was devastated to realize that he wasn't faithful while he was on the road and I was at home with our baby. I can't go through that again." A tear fell down her cheek and Dave reached up to gently wipe it away. "I don't want to give you the power to hurt me like that. I don't want to fall in love with you. But" the last sentence was unintelligible as she broke down crying.

Dave didn't know how to respond. He wanted to take her in his arms to comfort her, but wasn't sure if she would be welcoming to that as she had just said she didn't want to love him. He couldn't help it, though. He loved her too much to stop his need to comfort her when she was upset. He pulled her from her chair into his lap. Wrapping both arms around her, he pulled her close so that her head could rest on his shoulder as she cried. As her sobs subsided, he kissed the top of her head and asked, "So, can you tell me how to get through the heartache of not being allowed to love you? I love you so much that I can't live without you. The thought of never being able to touch you, to kiss you, to hold you is killing me. Do you think you'll ever be able to love me?" She looked up as she felt his tears drop on her head.

"Dave?" she looked questioningly into his eyes. "Didn't you hear me? It's already too late for me to stop loving you."

"Really?" he asked, hoping she did truly love him, too.

"I think I felt it the first day we trained together," she said, reaching up to wipe his tears. "I was all quivery inside from doing your measurements and taking your pulse. I've been fighting it ever since then, but I can't fight it anymore. Please promise you won't break my heart."

"Never," he responded, bending his head to kiss her passionately. She responded by running her hand across his chest and kissing him back. She gently nibbled on his bottom lip before running her tongue across it. She kissed his jaw and down his neck as her hands wandered across his shoulders to his back. She moved in his lap and felt his immediate response. "You're going to drive me insane," he said as he picked her up and turned her in his lap to straddle him. His hands encircled her hips holding her against his manhood. She pulled away slightly to look into his eyes and smile. "If you're not ready to make love, you'd better tell me now because I'm about to carry you up to my bed and have my way with you," he said bending his head to kiss her again. She returned his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood up, picking her up with him to go upstairs.


End file.
